In August 2010 three Maidenhead United fans were banned from attending home games, by a kangaroo court, for crimes they didn't commit.These men promptly encountered a jobsworth security blockade, and so escaped to the non-league underground.Today, still stigmatised by the MUFC Ltd hierarchy, they survive as supporters of fancy.If you enjoy a train away day - and if you can find them - then maybe you can share a drink with ... the K-team!

Friday, 11 February 2011

Trevor Kingham - an update

As promised, the latest...

Having tried to register on the QPR LSA messageboard, and having not had any response for a couple of days, I managed to find a couple of mobile numbers.

The first one went unanswered, but the second one proved more successful. The bloke I spoke with knew of Trevor, although he didn't know him personally. Thankfully, though, he still knows his ex wife, Joanne, and he promised to contact her and pass on my details.

I was extremely grateful to hear the phone call within the hour. It was Joanne.

She remembered my name (can't think why?!) and indeed had recently been looking through some photos of us, including Trevor, when we did Fancy Dress at Grays nearly 10 years ago. She'd also called as she knew how much MUFC had meant to him, when he had been living locally.

Joanne then proceeded to tell me that Trevor had suffered a heart attack a couple of years ago, whilst living in Turkey. You may recall that he'd come back over in 2007 when Maidenhead had finally got through to the first round of the FA Cup, only to meekly surrender to Horsham. Typical. Although he'd recovered from this - the heart attack not the defeat - and I hope no one minds me mentioning this, it had cleaned him out financially. Turkey's not currently in the EU, so has no reciprocal health agreement.

He'd also been having some treatment in the UK, so had been periodically coming back here as a result.

Having done this in September, he had just arrived back in Turkey when he started feeling unwell. His brother Peter, who still lives locally, advised him to get straight back on a plane to the UK. He did this, but apparently had a stroke whilst flying back. Although the paramedics met him at the plane and took him straight to East Surrey hospital, his brain had been starved of oxygen for a while, causing severe damage. He ended up in a coma and, to be honest, the doctors gave him no chance of recovery.

However, this is Trevor Kingham we're talking about here, and he's made of sterner stuff. I'm being polite, as Joanne called him 'stubborn'! I knew what she meant though...

He eventually came out of the coma, moved around various hospitals and, over 4 months later, he's now in a specialist hospital for stroke victims in Putney. Apparently he still forgets things and can sometimes become confused. He can talk and has some movement in his arms and legs but, suffice to say, he's unlikely to be the same again. A truly sobering thought, considering what a 'tour de force' he was during his time at the club. Think about him the next time you sit in the blue seats at the back of the stand, which we got from the old Den. He put them all in...

Apparently his brother still sees him a couple of times a week, and I'd dearly love to see him again, but it's immediate family only for the foreseeable future.

Joanne has promised to pass my details on to Peter, and I'd really like to hear from him at some stage. If I do, I'll let everyone know, after reminding him how popular he was with us.